Anyway, here are the Cheetahs:
Again, the colours are a bit off as I have a crappy camera and only one close light source. They're really more dark brown and not as yellow looking.Taking a cue from Flatline over at the DP9 forums I thought I'd write about the finished squad for readers who are not Pod People.
In contrast to the generalized utilitarian squads of the South the Northern forces are much more specialized in nature and this is reflected very well in the Recon Squad. Its main job is normally to work as spotters and target designators for other units armed with indirect fire weaponry. A classic example would be a Recon Squad forward observing for Grizzlies in a Fire Support Squad. For higher survivability in small skirmishes I chose to go with Jaguars armed with Anti-Gear Missiles in a Dragoon Squad instead, but the principle remains the same.
So with that little introduction let's have a look at the individual members that makes up the squad:
- Cheetah. This is the primary Northern scout Gear. It's very fast, hard to hit and has ample sensor and electronic warfare capabilities. It's armed with a Light Rifle instead of its usual Deployable Pack Gun (basically a disposable autocannon) and a Light Rocket Pack/24.
- Ferret MkII. The Ferret, with its famous buttwheel, is the predecessor to the Cheetah and is generally being phased out in favour of it. However, the Mark II design is an attempt to update it and although it still lacks the agility of the Cheetah it's the fastest Gear in the Northern forces. Armed with a Light Rocket Pack/24 and carrying a Medium Rifle instead of it's usual Light Autocannon.
- Jaguar (Combat Group Leader). The Jaguar is set to replace the venerable Hunter as the standard Gear in the Northern forces, however, because of some initial export restrictions set by the United Mercantile Federation this hasn't happened as quickly as was hoped for. Therefore the Jaguar is still more akin to an elite Gear and can often be found in Strike or Commando roles, as well as replacing Head Hunters as group leaders. Armed with a Light Rocket Pack/32 and a Heavy Rifle instead of the usual Medium Autocannon.
- Cheetah. Another basic Cheetah with a Light Rifle and a Light Rocket Pack/24.
- Wild Ferret. This is another variant of the Ferret. Sacrificing the Light Rocket Pack and Target Designator for a Satellite Uplink and stronger Electronic Warfare capabilies. Armed with a Light Rifle.
The plan is basically to try to designate targets for the Dragoon Squad's AGMs as well as opportunity sniping and getting some extra Command Points with the Satellite Uplink.
That's all for today. Here's what I'll be working on until next time:
Hi there, nice blog, and very nice recon squad ! The northern recon is my second favorite squad in the whole north arsenal, after the dragoon. If you need some help with good squad/army combos, you should enjoy the Northern Toolbox article in Aurora 3.5, or you can also ask me directly, since I wrote it :op.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work !
Hudson D.
Very nice Gears. I'm really enjoying looking at all your painted stuff. Very very cool stuff
ReplyDeleteThanks! Glad you like it!
ReplyDeleteDimitri/Hudson D, I actually read that article as I was putting together my first army, and the first iteration used a lot of your ideas (three Rabid Grizzlies in the Dragoon Squad), however I went for (hopefully) more survibable Jaguars/Cheetahs since it's only a TV 750 force so far.
I do love the Grizzly though and will get some as soon as possible. :)
You're welcome ! I'm just as glad my article proved useful for actual beginners, 750 TV is a little tight, but a good format to learn efficiency. I assume PL 2, which sub-faction, NAF or WFPA ?
ReplyDeleteIf you take a "strike-lite" dragoon (excellent choice by the way, but you'll have to make each shot count), have you pondered placing the pair of cheetahs in that squad, so as to allow the dragoon to tag for itself ? That way the recon can be equipped as a force recon, to support the dragoon, but in a more offensive way, so that you end up with more firepower in the end. That should also leave you with enough TV for a well equipped infantry platoon.
Yes, I thought I'd start with 750 and build up from there.
ReplyDeleteYou can see the force I've planned out in this post. But it's basically as you suggest with a Dragoon squad with two Cheetahs.
I've been wondering if I'm going a bit too TD-heavy though. Redundancy is always good, but recently I've been thinking of the added firepower two Strike Cheetahs could provide in the Dragoon Squad.
That's a solid base, easily tweakable too. Cheetahs are good machines, but very expensive, so you have to make sure they fill a role in your army, especially at such low TV. The Cheetahs in the dragoon can easily serve a dual purpose by getting equipped with FGC/HHG. The FGC is pretty mediocre, but HHGs are downright brutal, especially on such a chassis. On the other hand, do you need 140 points of dedicated spotter in addition to that, for only a pair of AGMs ? That's the price for two recon cheetahs. A pair of Mk IIs with MRFs will bring you more firepower, while keeping spotter ability, and freeing TV. Finally, you lack IF/stun capability in your army, a role infantry mortars fill extremely well.
ReplyDeleteWell, seeing how I really stared liking the Ferret model that's a very good idea. At the moment I'm limited by the models I have but I'll definitely keep it in mind.
ReplyDeleteMy original force had mortars for the infantry but in the end I went for AGR to free up some points for the costly Cheetahs. Hehe! I really do want a less "elite heavy" army in the end though.
Oh, and you'd go with FGC/HHG over Strike Cheetahs? I seem to remember that RFBs were all the rage...
Oh, Ferrets are cute and funny looking, but don't ever mistake them for joke vehicles. They're cheap, hard to hit, and pack a very respectable punch with an MRF, the TD is icing on the cake.
ReplyDeleteRFBs have never been very popular, due to short range, but the Cheetah is probably the best platform for that weapon, since it has the speed and defence to go to close range easily.
Having said that, the question of going strike Cheetahs, or FGC/HHG is a fairly complex one, and it really depends on which role you want them to fill.
The strike gets slightly increased defense, and better offense with airdroppable, but it loses utility, with no grenades and TD, and a downgraded ECM. Vanilla Cheetahs with HHGs are 10TV more, and FGCs are peashooters, but HHGs are brutal against most targets with low to medium armor (like vehicles), furthermore, they keep their TDs, so they can designate targets for the Jags, without the need for another squad.
If it were up to me, I'd go with HHGs Cheetahs, they provide more utility for the squad, and they'll act as support for the (much) more powerful AGM Jags. That way, both your squads can act independantly with no loss of efficiency, but still be able to support each others when needed. That's what I call synergy. Of course, having magnetized weapons is quite a bonus there, since you can swap MAC/FGC/DPG easily, depending on which squad you deploy your cheetahs in.
Well, thanks for all the great advice! It's always good to hear from more experienced players.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'll toy around for a bit to see what suits my playstyle best and then go from there. I'll probably make one Strike Cheetah just because I like the look of the RFB, but HHG do sound nice as well... :)